


Beauty (Marks) & the Beast

by skargasm



Series: VinCat the Sterek Way [1]
Category: Beauty and the Beast (TV 2012), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Canonical Character Death, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2019-01-25 13:48:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12532944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skargasm/pseuds/skargasm
Summary: Stiles Stilinski went into law enforcement to figure out the mystery behind his mother's murder. And maybe find the 'beast' he is convinced he saw that night that no one believes him about.Derek Hale used to be a Doctor and a soldier but now he's a fugitive, an experiment gone wrong who has to live in hiding. But he can't resist the call of Stiles Stilinski - both to his beast and to his human side - and that might just be dangerous for both of them.





	1. History & A Mystery

Derek watched from the shadows as Claudia Stilinski hooked up her car battery to the battered Jeep. It had become a habit, watching the Doctor as she went about her life—she was his only real connection to SilverTech—although that wasn’t all. 

Her son, Stiles, stood next to her, chattering about his evening working at the bar. Stiles—was, well a distraction. He called to something in Derek that he found hard to resist. Tall and gangly, he spoke a lot with his hands, cheeks flushed, hair a rumpled mess as it grew slightly out of his buzz-cut. His face was dotted with miles—a constellation of marks that sometimes Derek _may_ have fantasised about in his darkened room at night. He may have wondered whether the smooth pale skin of his body was dotted with similar moles; may have wanted to see the lean, muscled lines hidden by graphic tee-shirts and baggy jeans; may have imagined—

—the sound of an unfamiliar car engine ended his drifting and he tried to see who was arriving. His tucked away position meant his view was obstructed, the darkened car park of the bar making it difficult to make out anything outside the vicinity of the Dr’s headlights. The bar had closed over 45 minutes ago so it couldn’t be someone arriving for a drink. He shifted his position, trying to get a closer look as a vehicle pulled up and two men stepped out of it. The heavy scent of gun oil reached his nostrils and he felt his eyes begin to glow as his senses went into overdrive. Before he could do anything further, one of the men reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun.

“Mom, who are—“

“Stiles, get into my car – get into my car now!” Two gunshots rang out, Claudia’s body slumping back onto Stiles before rage overtook him and everything went black and he was rushing forward, determined to protect Stiles no matter the cost.

o o O o O o o 

Stiles shivered beneath the warmth of the blanket, fingers sliding back and forth the mole on his hand in a familiar nervous gesture. His Mom had always told him that he had been decorated by beauty marks when he complained about them. Not that she would be saying that to him ever again—not now, not ever. She was dead, shot down right in front of him. And they couldn’t even interrogate his mother’s murderers because they too were dead. 

Stiles wasn’t even sure what had happened—one moment he was screaming at his Mom as she collapsed into his arms, aware that the gunmen had him in their sights. The next thing he knew, there was a flurry of movement, heavy growls, grunts and groans, and in the light from the car headlamps, he saw two bodies hit the ground. The shadow of what looked like a man loomed above him, and in the dim light he would swear he saw red eyes glowing in his direction before with another blurring flurry of movement, he was all alone. Alone with the body of his dead mother, two unknown assailants and a mountain of questions that he wasn’t sure he would ever get the answer to.

o o O o O o o 

“Detective Stilinski, Detective McCall from the 95th Precinct.” Flashing his badge, Stiles stepped closer to the body lying on the floor, already scanning the crime scene. The body lay in an untidy sprawl on the ground, blood seeping into the ugly patterned carpet on the hotel lobby floor. The face of the victim was twisted in a grimace of pain, captured that way forever in death. “What do we have?”

“Body’s still warm. I’ll know more when I get her back to the lab. You and McCall caught this one huh? I thought you had a hot date tonight Stiles?”

Scott shrugged. “Looks like it. How you doing, Malia?” 

“I’m good thanks, Scott. You know me. Always enjoy digging into a good case.” Stiles watched as Malia packed away her tools before stepping away from the body. “Stiles—always a pleasure.”

“Sorry to have dragged you away from your date Malia. Who’s the lucky guy this time?” 

“Oh don’t be jealous, Stiles. All you have to do is say yes and you could be my one and only.” Malia slipped on her velvet blazer, flipping her hair out of the collar.

“I couldn’t handle you and I know it. See you back at the precinct?” 

“Ah, my broken heart may never recover. But yeah, give me a few hours and I should be able to give you cause of death.”

“Thanks, Malia.”

“Initial thoughts?” Turning back to Scott, Stiles looked around once more. Apart from the body, which was currently being bagged and tagged in preparation for taking to the precinct, there were splatters of blood but nothing that looked fatal. A quick search showed the victim’s purse still contained her wallet, credit cards and cash. Not a robbery/homicide then.

“Not sure—maybe Malia will come up with something concrete.” Slipping his gloves off and shoving them into his pocket, Stiles stretched. 

“Mmmm—maybe. So, how did your date with Matt go?” Stiles winced at the unpleasant reminder of the start of his evening. 

“Oh please—he turned out to be a bit of a badge bunny, who’s already moved on to the next badge.”

“Ouch!” Scott clapped him sympathetically on the shoulder. “Sorry, buddy, but you and I both have appalling taste when it comes to dating.” 

“Why, what happened this time? Who were you seeing tonight?”

“No one special, but maybe that’s the problem. Maybe we both should give up on dating for a while.”

“Dear God—tonight must have been bad! Come one, you can tell me all about it on the drive back to the precinct.” Leading the way out of the hotel reception area, Stiles tossed his car keys up and down as Scott launched into a lurid and hilarious rendition of his night’s adventures.

o o O o O o o 

“So what do we have?” Captain Argent perched on the corner of Stiles’ desk, flicking idly through the various piles of paperwork.

“Got a partial fingerprint off a button on the vic’s blouse. And—looks like we have a hit, although it’s not the husband.” Stiles frowned as he read the details on screen. 

“Looks like military”. Stiles nodded gratefully as Scott passed him a coffee. He took a quick sip, frowning as he burnt his tongue. 

“And he’s dead! Derek Hale, died within the rest of his unit although most of the details have been redacted.”

“Dead?” Scott stopped mid-chew.

“Yeah, let me just pull up some details….”

“What're a dead vet’s fingerprints doing on our victim?” The captain stood behind him, reading over his shoulder. 

“I don’t know. I would suggest speaking to his next of kin but looks like most of his family are dead. A house fire, about eleven years ago.” Stiles recoiled in horror at the thought of losing his whole family like that—losing his mother had been bad enough. 

“Speak to the people he used to work with—get him crossed off the list.” Decision made and conveyed, Allison walked back to her office. Stiles stared at the picture that had accompanied the description of their suspect, mesmerised by the solemn gaze. Derek Hale was a beautiful looking man, full-lipped, clean jawed but the most arresting thing about him was his eyes. Even on screen, they were a beautiful combination of brown and green that could not be described by a word as prosaic as hazel.

“Stiles!” He jumped, looking up at his partner. “We need to drop in on Malia, then visit the hospital.”

“Sorry, yeah, right with you Scottie.” Switching off his screen, he pulled on his jacket and followed Scott down to the Medical Examiner’s Office. 

“Hey, Malia.” Scott wandered over to the far side of the office. 

“Hi, Malia—got anything good?” 

“Tickets to a première tomorrow night if you wanna come with me. Free food and booze.” 

“Sounds good but I was actually talking about the case.” An almost feral grin crossed Malia’s face. 

“Cool—I’ll text you the details. The case is an interesting one. Cuts and bruises, but none of the head injuries were fatal. I’ve sent bloods to toxicology—should get the results back sooner rather than later. “

“So nothing for us then?”

“Now I didn’t say that. A few things actually—couple of hairs from the body that don’t appear to match the vic’s. And there are signs of bruising to the sternum, cracked ribs—similar to what you sere when CPR has been administered.” Obviously enjoying his reactions, Malia rested her hip against the table as she gave him the news.

“What, so you’re saying our murderer tried to resuscitate her after killing her? Or we had a good Samaritan turn up after?”

“Hey, I just provide the intel—you and McCall do all of the investigating.” Malia gave him another smile. “I’ve tagged you in so you should get copies of results automatically. I wouldn’t play with that if I was you, Scott—not if you don’t want your balls to shrink anyway.” Scott jumped but put down the test tube he’d been playing with, which made Stiles laugh.

“You can be such a dick, Malia!” 

“Isn’t that part of your mad attraction to me—I’m man and woman enough for you in one sexy package!”

“Ha ha! Let us know what toxicology comes back with.” 

“Will do.” Stiles led Scott out of the M.E.’s office, ignoring the wide-eyed way his partner was grabbing his package. Scott could be so gullible sometimes. As they walked to their car, Scott seemed to recover.

“I don’t know why you two don’t just get it over and done with, and bone already?” 

“Well—there’s the fact that we work together for one.”

“Yeah, but it’s a well-known fact that a lot of people meet their significant others at work. It’s like law enforcement and medical staff just go together. Look at my Mom and Dad.” The two shared a look. 

“Not the best example—your dad’s an FBI douche-bag at the best of times.”

“True—okay, but you know what I mean. You yourself said your Mom and Dad—“

“Let’s not bring them into it—too close to the anniversary.”

“Sorry, dude.” Stiles shook his head, trying not to sink into the miasma of questions his mother’s death always dropped him into. It had fed his decision to go into law enforcement and he had kept in regular contact with the officers in charge of his mother’s case, even after the trail went stone cold. “I just meant—I’m not sure why you don’t give Malia a proper chance. You two are always out on what should be dates but you always insist they’re not.”

“Because they’re not! Malia’s not serious about me—she’s a major player and you know it. I’m not built that way, man, I never have been.” 

“Fair enough—look, subject closed I promise.” They got into their vehicles, Stiles at the steering wheel. “So—Derek Hale? Wanna check him out at the hospital?”

“Yeah—the dead vet. That’s cool.”

o o O o O o o 

“Derek Hale? Yeah—I remember him. Not like other residents at all. Some of them were cocky as fuck, arrogant little bastards.” The nurse looked almost fond. “Not Derek—Derek was sweet—quiet spoken, intelligent, listened when we spoke to him. Real popular with the nurses but very respectful. It was a damn shame what happened to his family, a real shame.”

“They all perished in a fire if I recall correctly?”

“Yeah—still affected him so many years later. I think it had a lot to do with his decision to move into medicine, helping people you know.”

“Has he been seen around—lately I mean?” Scott and Stiles two-timed her efficiently, used to working together. 

“You guys aren’t exactly good investigators, are you? Derek Hale died over nine years ago.”

“You sure about that?” 

“Well, there’s a plaque in the lobby that says he is—unless you know something different?!”

“Was Hale close to anyone in particular when he was here? Anyone still around, I mean?” 

“Not at the hospital as such. Actually, there was a family he boarded with—got very close to. I think he even kinda babysat their daughter when she made trips here.” She stood thinking for a minute, obviously trying to remember details. “It was Professor Yukimura—I think. She and her husband were friends of the Hale family before they died. Derek and Kira were room-mates I believe.”

“Well, thank you for your help. Are any of the Yukimura’s still around?”

“Noshiko and her husband went back to Japan but I think Kira still lives in the city. I believe she’s got a teaching position at the local university.”

“You’ve been incredibly helpful—thank you.” They left the nurse, heading back to the car whilst Stiles pulled up a secure search on his cell. A quick search got them an up to date address for a Kira Yukimura, who did indeed hold a teaching position at the local university in Japanese Fighting Techniques and Cultural Advances. Less than half an hour later, they were pulling up outside a huge building in the warehouse district. 

“Bet this place cost a pretty penny in its day.” 

“Yeah, well, you get life insurance from the number of people that died in that fire and you’re not going to be hurting for money. Assuming Hale bought this place anyway. But who the hell lives in a warehouse in this day and age? Isn’t it just a humongous hipster cliché?” Stiles turned in a slow circle, taking in as much of the area that he could. The building was surrounded by a chain-mail fence that was very obviously well maintained; there was a courtyard that housed only one car despite having room for several—they had parked out on the street as they weren’t sure what they were driving into. Either Yukimura came from money or she made a lot more money than an average young professor normally did—she was around the same age as he and Scott and there was no way he could afford to live somewhere like this. Maybe they should look into her financials if this lead went anywhere?

The dark metal doors that seemed to be the only entrance were quiet foreboding and less than welcoming, and Stiles struggled with a feeling that he was being watched. This place was straight up creepy

Scott banged on the door and spoke loudly.

“Ms Yukimura? Hello, are you there? Beacon Hills Special Division—Ms Yukimura?” There was no response and Scott looked at Stiles. “Maybe she’s not in?!”

“We checked at the university and she’s not scheduled for a lesson at the moment.” Stepping forward, Stiles rapped sharply on the door. 

“Ms Yukimura—can you come to the door please?” Just as Stiles was about to turn away, the clear sound of at least three separate locks were audible even through the thickness of the door. 

Stiles and Scott straightened, automatically in ‘cop mode’ as the door opened to reveal a short, attractive young woman who looked up at them with the most innocent and guileless expression possible. It almost immediately put Stiles on alert as Scott stepped forward and introduced them before following the young woman into the building. Unsnapping the gun guard on his holster, Stiles followed them inside.

o o O o O o o 

From his hiding place, Derek watched Kira speaking to the two detectives. His eyes hungrily travelled over Stiles’ face—both entranced at seeing Stiles in Derek’s own space, and worried at what it meant. What brought him here, now? Why was he asking about Derek?

“Derek Hale? Oh wow, I haven’t heard that name in such a long time.” He could hear Kira’s heart thumping and racing. 

“We were told that your parents were Derek’s guardians—that you were close?” That was the partner asking.

“Yeah, yeah, we were. He came to live with us when his family died in the fire—he was the big brother I never had. When he enlisted, when he died—it was really hard for all of us.”

“Have you heard from him at all recently?”

“What—you mean likes _voices_?!”

“Ms Yukimura—can you think of any reason why Mr Hale would want people to think he was dead?” 

“Whu—I have no clue what you’re talking about!” Derek watched as Stiles and his partner faced Kira, obviously cataloguing her every reaction. They were a good team but Derek’s faith in Kira was damned near absolute. 

“Mr Hale’s fingerprints were found on a murder victim.” 

“Holy moly! I’m sorry—this is just so unbelievable! Your equipment must be off kilter or something—maybe you need to reconsider your tech guys? There’s nothing that makes sense!”

“Does anyone else live here? Is there anyone else on the property?” Derek could see that Stiles was strolling around their space, long fingers trailing over Petri dishes and other scientific detritus almost casually. Suddenly he looked almost directly at Derek, eyes seeming to search through the darkness to lock onto Derek’s. Jesus, those eyes….”It’s a huge place for one person.”

“Oh I do experiments and stuff here—home gym for my—look, do I need a lawyer or something? Because I’m due for office hours and have students coming to see me.”

“No, no—we’re just following the evidence. Thank you so much for your time.”

“Oh no problem—sorry, I couldn’t help you any more than that.” With a subtlety that surprised him, Kira began leading the detectives to the front door. As silently as possible, Derek stepped forward, keeping Stiles in his sight as they moved.

“Thanks again Ms Yukimura.” The door slammed shut behind them and Derek watched as Kira made sure to do up all of the locks before slumping against it. Slipping to the window, he watched as Stiles and his partner crossed the courtyard and made their way to a vehicle parked across from the building. 

“Derek—what the hell did you do? Your fingerprints are on a _murder_ victim?” 

“Calm down Kira—I saw the woman in trouble and I tried to help.” Derek opened the drawer of a nearby desk, rummaging through before pulling out an old newspaper page. The picture on the front was of a much younger Stiles, hair buzzed short, eyes wide and shocked as he sat wrapped in a blanket at the back of an ambulance. “It’s him.” 

“Him, who? You **know** that detective?” 

“He’s from that night. I didn’t know it would be his case.”

“ _His_ case? Oh my God, Derek, have you been—“

“I just kept track of him—I….I wanted to know he was safe. Don’t worry so much Kira!”

“Worry? Are you out of your mind? You went out where you could be seen, you interacted with someone, you left your prints on the scene of a murder...you broke every single rule—”

“I know the rules—I _made_ the damned rules Kira! I just—sometimes this place feels like a prison...”

“Derek! What prison has a flat screen and an Xone? If you’re feeling so damned stuck then why have you stopped trying to help me find a cure?”

“Do you know the definition of insanity Kira? It’s doing the same thing day after day and expecting a different result! There **IS** no cure for what they did to me.” 

“You don’t know that—please don’t give up on me Derek, please!” Kira sighed, then grabbed him into a hug and he felt his anxiety levels dropping. 

“I couldn’t not help, Kira—it’s not in me.” 

“I know—it’s part of what makes you special. I just don’t understand though. We were making progress—slow progress, but we were—“

“Kira, let’s just face it—we’re never going to be able to change what SilverTech did to me and I’m going to spend the rest of my life hiding because of it.”

“Derek!”

“No—there’s nothing left to talk about. I promise I’ll be more careful okay? You better go—you’re going to be late for your office hours, right?” Kira gave a heavy sigh before she nodded, accepting his refusal to continue speaking and turned away.

“Just—try not to get caught out there? Ten years of hiding successfully—whatever you feel about this guy, don’t let it cloud your judgement. Please.”

“Okay. I’m sorry.” He watched as Kira gathered her stuff and headed out the door, leaving him all alone. The weight of her disappointment and worry caused his shoulders to droop, and he slumped against the wall, taking a deep breath. The scent of Stiles was still vaguely in the air and he took another deep breath, holding it in his lungs as long as he could. It soothed the beast inside even whilst it aroused feelings he hadn’t really experienced in a long time, and he wondered if his life would ever be the same again.

o o O o O o o 


	2. Out of the Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles follows his instincts and the clues....

Going through the footage from the hotel lobby, Stiles watched people come and go in fast forward. The footage inside missed the area where their vic had ended up—he could watch as she staggered through the doors but the next camera was next to the elevators, further into the foyer than she had made it. He switched discs, watching footage from outside the hotel, a nagging feeling beginning to bother him about something he was seeing. 

The car! It was the car parked haphazardly just on the edges of the camera’s range—he had seen it before, and recently too! It was the car they had seen parked outside Kira Yukimura’s warehouse. 

“Stiles—hey, Stiles, Malia is after us.” 

“With you.” Frowning in thought, Stiles shut the footage down and followed Scott to the M.E.’s office. “Hey, Malia, what have you got?”

“Hi—yeah, sorry not good news. Seems like the evidence got contaminated in some way—that or my equipment’s gone wonky?”

“How do you mean?” 

“Cross-species DNA of all things—I ran the tests twice and got the same result.” Malia looked thoughtful. “Scott, can you give us a minute please.” She waited until Scott had left the room, then turned back to Stiles. “Weirdly enough, Stiles, they match some of the DNA on file, well the markers match another case.”

“What case?”

“The one involving your Mom. Stiles, I know you’ve always had questions about what happened—I just thought maybe you’d want to know that.”

Frozen in place, Stiles nodded, his mind racing. No one had believed him when he talked about that night—that somehow, some beast had killed the men who had murdered his Mom yet left him alive. There had never been a satisfactory answer as to why those men had targeted his mother; what _exactly_ had damned near torn them apart; the glowing red eyes that had stared at him for what felt like a lifetime as he lay on the ground next to his mother’s body. His therapist had told him he’d been traumatised—that he’d seen beasts in response to the shock of what happened right in front of him. He’d allowed himself to be persuaded, had half convinced himself that he was crazy. Now that all came crashing back.

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s probably nothing—I’m going to have to get the spectrophotometer checked out and maybe recalibrated. It just seemed odd, that the markers matched. Forget I said anything—I didn’t mean to dredge up the past.”

“Hey now—don’t worry about it. Probably just a weird ass coincidence.” Avoiding Malia’s concerned look, Stiles left as quickly as he could. Ignoring Scott calling his name, he rushed to the squad car and started the engine. Pulling out of the station, he put a call through to the FBI.

“Hi, yes—could I speak to Agent Tyler, please? I wanted to ask him some questions about a case he was responsible for nine years ago.” He listened intently as the person down the other end of the phone informed him that Agent Tyler was no longer with the bureau and his cases had been reassigned. “Oh cool, yeah, erm, could I speak to the agent now in charge or get him to call me back?” He left his number, slightly frustrated at his lack of progress but pushing the feeling down. 

Maybe he’d strike lucky with Yukimura—there had to be a reason why her vehicle had been near the crime scene—it was too much of a coincidence otherwise. 

The warehouse looked more foreboding in the weak afternoon sunlight. The car wasn’t there but Stiles parked up nevertheless and walked over to the building. He knocked on the door, surprised when it pushed open with no effort. Pulling his weapon out of his holster, he stepped cautiously into the warehouse. 

“Ms Yukimura—it’s Detective Stilinski. I have a warrant to search the premises.” There was no reply but somehow Stiles knew he wasn’t alone. A few more cautious steps in, he looked around, trying to see if there were signs of a struggle. “Ms Yukimura—I’d really like to speak to you—please come out.”

“She’s not here—she’s got office hours.” Stiles span in the direction of the voice, pointing his weapon, on full alert.

“Come out into the light where I can see you!”

“Kira’s not here.”

“Sir—I’m going to have to ask you to step into the light where I can see you.” Stiles watched with wide eyes as a dark shape separated from the shadows and stepped forward, slowly coming into the light. “You—you’re Derek Hale.”

“Yeah.”

“Looking pretty good for a dead guy, Mr Hale.”

“I didn’t kill that girl.”

“And I didn’t mention a murder.”

“I was out driving Kira’s car—I saw that woman was hurt, so I followed her—I tried to help.”

“I think, maybe, we need to have this conversation down at the station.”

“I swear to you—I did **NOT** harm that woman!” It was obvious Hale was trying to appear as un-threatening as possible, but his task was a hard one. He had deep five o’clock shadow, bordering on a beard, his black hair was over-long and flopping in his face slightly, and those piercing eyes all came together into a look that was dark, brooding and anything but un-threatening. “She’s already collapsed in the hotel lobby by the time I reached her—I tried CPR but it was too late.”

Hale sounded sincere—a little desperate but sincere and Stiles found himself relaxing his stance, about to lower his weapon when out of the corner of his eye he saw a familiar black and white photograph. The newspaper article from nine years ago that followed his mother’s death; that wretched picture of him looking so young and scared—it had haunted him for years and seeing it again, here and so out of context, was jarring.

“Why do you have that?”

“Look, I—“

“I need to know why you have that!”

“Stiles? Stiles, are you there? BHPD—this is Detective McCall.” The sound of Scott’s voice was loud and Hale looked even more panicked if that were possible. 

“No one can know that I’m alive—please!” 

“Detective Scott McCall here—is there anyone in the building?”

“You _know_ I didn’t hurt that woman—please!” Staring into those eyes, Stiles knew he had seconds to make a decision. He stared at Hale—trying to look _into_ him to see who knew what before he gave a sharp nod. Holstering his weapon, he turned and hurried to the door just as Scott moved further into the warehouse. 

“Sorry, Scottie—I didn’t hear you. Ms Yukimura isn’t here—looks like this is a dead end.”

“Why the hell did you come here alone?” Stiles pulled the door closed behind them, making up a bullshit excuse about needing space as he drew Scott away from the warehouse. All the way to his car, he could swear he could feel Hale’s eyes on him but he couldn’t tell if the goose-pimples it caused were good or bad. But he sure as hell intended to find out.

o o O o O o o 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda short chapter but it's because this was a better 'break' - the next chapter may well be a bit of a monster! 
> 
> Still on the pilot though !


	3. Past & Present Collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A close shave leads further than Stiles could ever had imagined...

Just why Stiles was going to the subway was anyone’s guess. Derek maintained a safe distance, hiding in doorways as he shadowed the young detective. He had no idea why Stiles had decided to lie to his partner for Derek, but he was incredibly grateful and relieved. He tried to be honest with himself—what he felt for Stiles was more than he could explain to Kira, more than he could express to himself. Since that night over nine years ago, he’d been unable to make himself stay completely away. It was one of the few secrets he kept from Kira—just how often he checked in on Claudia Stilinski’s son; had watched as Stiles switched from studying the law to law enforcement; the few unsuccessful relationships he’d had; observed from afar the life he had built. And now, the one thing he had feared and wanted in equal measure had happened. They had met—and not while he was in his beast form; they had talked, he had been close enough to pick up his scent with next to no effort; to see the clear honey shade of his eyes. But what now?

He watched as Stiles approached a man in his late thirties and turned his head, concentrating hard so that he could hear what was being said. 

“Detective Stilinski—thank you so much for coming to meet me here.”

“No problem at all, Special Agent Greenberg—thank you for taking the time to meet me at all. I couldn’t be responsible for you being late to your son’s birthday party.”

“You mentioned something about a corrupted DNA sample?”

“Yes—one of my latest cases. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it if it hadn’t matched the numbers on my mother’s case. I thought I don’t know, maybe—“

“Sure thing, let me have a look.” Stiles handed over what looked like an evidence bag and the special agent held it up to the light as a train thundered through the station. Distracted, Derek leaned back against the wall as the few people that exited the train left the station, the hair on the back of his neck suddenly rising as he sensed— _something_. His attention snapped back to Stiles, stunned to see him fighting off what looked like a homeless guy.

The FBI agent, Greenberg, lay moaning on the ground, blood pouring from a split lip and what looked like a busted nose. He felt the beast within rising up at seeing Stiles in danger, his fangs dropping as a growl came from deep in his chest. There was a clatter as Stiles’ gun fell to the ground, grunts, and groans as Stiles and the hobo traded blows. Pride blossomed as he watched Stiles dealing with his assailant, turning once more to anger as the hobo got the upper hand and managed to knock Stiles off the platform onto the train tracks.

Between one moment and the next, Derek found himself slashing and kicking the ‘hobo’ across the platform. There was the feel of flesh splitting beneath his claws and a gurgling scream before he looked down at the lifeless body. He had split-second warning before he was attacked from behind, Agent Greenberg having got to his feet. Enraged, Derek lashed out, barely muffling a howl as he took out Greenberg’s throat. 

He breathed harshly, trying to calm himself down and push back the beast. He kicked Stiles’ weapon off the platform towards where he was staring up at Derek, and then took off at a run, heading into the subway tunnel. 

“Wait! Come back here! HEY!” Torch light flickered over him as he ran nimbly down the tracks, heading towards a tunnel he knew would lead him back towards where he had parked the car. “I know you’re out there—come back here! Do you hear me—who the hell are you?” He looked quickly over his shoulder, shocked at how close Stiles was to him. About to put on a spurt of speed, he realised too late that the rattling sound was another train coming down the tracks. He could escape now, but what if Stiles didn’t move out of the way in time? He reversed direction, lifting Stiles off of his feet and slamming him into the wall of the tunnel, just as the train went hurtling by. 

His nose was pressed into Stiles’ hair, their bodies pushed together as he kept them flattened against the wall as his back was buffeted by the current stirred up by the train. The sudden silence in the tunnel was deafening as the train disappeared into the distance and he took a step backward, almost instantly mourning the loss of full body contact. He took another step back, slowly feeling the beast recede and his human features return. Stiles turned within the cage of his embrace, wide eyes staring at Derek as he transformed from beast to man.

“You’re him. You’re the beast from that night—the beast that saved me.” He couldn’t deny it, not while staring into Stiles’ eyes and he found himself nodding dumbly. What the hell did they do now?

o o O o O o o 

“So, are we going to talk about it?”

“You need to keep these clean and dry.” Stiles winced as Derek Hale dabbed at the cuts on his hands with cotton wool soaked in what felt like acid judging by how much it stung.

“Avoidance—good tactic! One of my favourites in fact! Never experienced that as a cop—excuse the sarcasm!” He looked around from his seat on Derek’s king-sized bed, taking in the details of the dark room. It was very minimalistic, almost sparse in its décor but the mattress beneath him was firm, the sheets clean. “I mean, maybe we could have a drink—a proper talk? Is a drink a good idea for you?”

“I don’t really drink. Very often I mean.”

“Probably a good idea—for you, I mean. Who knows what you’d be like on a few brews, am I right?” Derek was obviously avoiding his gaze, gathering up the detritus from cleaning Stiles’ wounds into a neat pile. “Mr. Hale—Derek—you said if I came home with you, that you’d explain. Or at least, talk to me.”

“Kira might have some beer—or maybe some wine.”

“Beer would be good—great in fact.” Stiles watched as Derek rose gracefully to his feet, silently gathering up all of the rubbish. 

“Probably easier if we go down to the kitchen. Kira isn’t here—at the moment.” Nodding his agreement, Stiles followed Derek down the spiral staircase and into the kitchen area. He watched as Derek threw the rubbish away and then went to the fridge, pulling out two bottles of beer. He nodded his thanks as Derek used a bottle opener on both beers then offered him one.

“Thank you.” Stiles took a long sip, then sat on the nearest stool. 

“You’re welcome.” Derek didn’t take a drink, picking at the label on the side of the bottle.

“So—you’re not going to deny it—you _are_ the beast from the night my Mom was murdered.”

“Yeah—yeah, I am.”

“Um—not sure how to ask this but— _what_ are you? I mean, what happened to you?” Derek looked down, seeming to be searching for the right words. 

“I should have asked questions—I mean, I trusted the wrong people—“

“Questions about what?”

“After my family died in the fire, it was just me and my sister, Laura. We were—we were doing okay but then she—she died. Suspicious circumstances that no one would discuss with me. I wanted answers—needed to know what happened. She was my only family besides the Yukimura’s and she was taken from me. I was devastated by her loss—was digging for information, tracking down leads that brought me to something big, something that was way out of my league. By then, I’d stopped working at the hospital—this thing had taken over my whole life.”

“What was it—what happened?”

“I met a woman—a woman who told me she could help me track down the real answers. I was lonely and a lot lost—I wanted to believe her when she told me she was part of an organisation that was working to bring down a terrorist cell. The same cell that was part of the shit that got Laura killed.

Kate convinced me that I could be part of an experimental process—make us faster, stronger, more lethal—the other volunteers, normal guys, ex-soldiers, that kind of thing.”

“What did they do?”

“A serum—super soldier type stuff. Majorly experimental—I _should_ have asked more questions.”

“Was it—bad?” 

“Not at first. The treatment—the procedures—were noninvasive. And it was working—we were stronger, faster.” Derek drained his bottle of beer, looking haunted. “But there were side effects—people started acting strangely.”

“Strange how?”

“Looking back, I can see it was pack behaviour. Fights kept breaking out over stupid things, people jostling for position. Who was top dog.” Derek dry-wiped his face before he continued. “I was still looking into Laura’s death independently—I came across some information that implicated Kate. And her family.”

“Holy shit, you mean—“

“Yeah. SilverTech. The very company I was working for were the people I was searching for. The people responsible for my sister’s death. There was a doctor there—not like the others—she was helping me. Or trying to. I think she realised whatever research that they were undertaking, the experiments they were running—that we were not necessarily on the right side. There was an attack on the compound—a rival company wanted to wipe SilverTech off the board. Wanted their research but not necessarily their current research subjects. It would have been a complete bloodbath—the savagery the unit showed—it was like they went feral, completely lost their humanity. The rival cell knew enough about what we were to bring reinforcements—they were slaughtering the people in my unit with not a hint of remorse.

I realised that they intended to eradicate everyone on site and I wanted to warn the doc. I—we worked together to get out of there. I could feel myself slipping, becoming more and more beast-like the longer I was around the fighting. 

The Doc helped keep me sane. We hid overnight and she talked to me. Told me all about her husband and her son; about the family members she had lost who she wanted vengeance for which had led her to SilverTech in the first place. That was—I can’t explain how much it grounded me, how much it meant to me. She kept me human that night and I kept her safe.”

“So they didn’t get her—the Doc?”

“Not that night. You have to know it was all code-names. Her tracks had been covered by experts—with her escape that night, she bought herself some time. And it seemed to have worked. I checked in with her periodically but the only other person that knew about me, that I was still alive, was Kira. It took years before I managed to get myself fully into control—Ken and Noshiko had already retired to Japan when I ‘died’. Everything went to them and Kira—she bought this place and turned it into a safe haven for me. Small enough town to be off the beaten track, large enough to hide. 

Some of this is a bit jumbled—dates are hard for me to keep track of—the Doc said something about a change in our aging caused by the serum that I didn’t think much of until recently—my cells regenerate at such a rate—my body hasn’t deteriorated. Anyway, nine years ago I was checking in on the Doc. And I realised that either SilverTech or another of their rivals had tracked her down. I realised too late to save her—I didn’t even get a chance to warn her. But I could do the next best thing.”

“And what was that?” Stiles knew—the more Derek spoke, the surer he became of where the tale was heading. But he needed it said out loud—he needed someone else to be the one to say it.

“I could save her son. I could watch over him. I could try to keep him safe.”

“You must have been so young when all of this first happened.”

“Nineteen. Young enough to think I knew it all, but old enough to know better. Like I said, I should have asked questions—kept digging on my own instead of accepting SilverTech and their shortcuts.” Derek looked exhausted, like sharing his story had hollowed him out and drained him of all energy.

Stiles could empathise. His head felt like it was going to explode with all of the new information he had—about his mother, about what really happened that night. His brain was full to bursting. 

“So you’ve been in hiding ever since SilverTech was attacked?”

“Yeah. The cover-up was so damned professional—coming out as alive would have been a death sentence. They’d already proved they were willing to kill to keep things quiet.”

“But you tried to help that woman—the murder victim?”

“I—sometimes I feel so damned cooped in—I have to get out. I couldn’t just walk away when I saw she was hurt.” They sat in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Derek’s story was just so fantastical—Stiles could barely wrap his head around it. For years, he’d blamed himself for his Mom’s death—if he hadn’t asked her to come jump-start his car; if he’d reacted faster, done _something_ other than freeze. Now, all of a sudden, there was so much more to the story. And maybe even someone else responsible for his Mother’s death that could be brought to justice.

“You have to come forward.”

“What?”

“We can protect you—keep you safe. But if SilverTech are everything you say they are—“

“Who do you think those people on the train platform were? SilverTech is still out there and they are still dangerous.”

“Yes, but—“

“And so am I. You’ve seen what they made of me, Stiles—seen the damage I can do.”

“You’ve never hurt an innocent—“

“No one will care! They’ll just see a monster, a beast. If I tried to come forward now, SilverTech would kill me or I’d end up locked up at best, dissected at the worst. Either way, not really the way I want my life to be.”

“But Derek—you can’t keep hiding forever! These people need to be exposed—human testing, murder—they can’t be allowed to get away with this!”

“I think you better go”.

“What?!”

“I—I just wanted you to understand why I couldn’t come forward to help you with your case. Wanted to warn you to let this stuff go. Wanted you to know that your Mother’s death wasn’t your fault.”

“But Derek—they **experimented** on you! And others! They killed my Mom!” Agitated, Stiles jumped to his feet and started pacing up and down the kitchen.

“Stiles—your one inquiry brought two SilverTech agents out to kill you. What do you think would happen if I crawled out of the woodwork?”

“But they can’t be allowed to get away with this! Don’t you want your life back?”

“I’ve explained as best I can. You better leave before Kira comes back.”

“Are you and she—?”

“Good God, no! She’s like a sister to me.”

“Oh right—so, why can’t I stay?”

“Because there’s nothing else to talk about, nothing else to be done. You need to stop asking questions and forget you ever met me.”

“Derek—“

“Please, Stiles! This isn’t safe for you or me. You have to forget I existed and you have to stop asking questions about your mother’s case. Leave it alone.”

“I don’t know if I can.” Somehow, he had ended up face to face with Derek—somehow, they were almost as close as they had been in the subway tunnel. He could feel the heat of Derek’s body all along his own—was close enough to see the kaleidoscope of shades that made up the colour of Derek’s eyes. When had that happened?

“I’m not sure you have a choice.” Stiles licked lips that were suddenly incredibly dry, his palms felt sweaty. “You can’t come back here Stiles—it’s too dangerous.”

“But—“ He could feel the heat of Derek’s stare, realised that the other man was looking at his lips hungrily and Stiles couldn’t quite remember what he had been about to say.

“What the hell is he doing here?”

o o O o O o o 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta admit, sometimes I struggle with timelines for this stuff. Forgive me if this seems a little jumbled time-scale wise. Please let me know if you see any grammar errors as I beta this myself.
> 
> And yes, this is STILL the pilot!


	4. Magnetic Attraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why can't they stay away from each other?

“This is incredibly stupid even for you.” Derek didn’t even lift his head from the table he was resting it on. Kira had worked herself up into a major state and there was absolutely no point in him trying to talk her down—better to let her work it out of her system. “What were you thinking? He’s a cop—he’s the son of a woman who helped perform human experiments—on you, I might add—and he’s investigating a murder where your fingerprints were found on the scene! Seriously, in what universe do I come home and find you two one step away from dry humping each other?!” 

“HEY!”

“Well I’m sorry but a whole troop of SilverTech soldiers could have walked in and neither of you would have noticed! I knew it—I knew it when you told me you’d been keeping track of him all of these years—I knew he was going to cause trouble!”

“Kira—“

“No, Derek, we should have packed up and left as soon as he and his partner left that morning!” 

“There is no need to panic—“

“There is every need to panic! He wants you to come forward—make yourself a target for SilverTech when we’ve fought for so long, so hard to keep the target off your back!”

“To be fair, when you first found out, you wanted me to do the same!”

“Well, I learned my lesson. And this Detective Stilinski does not get to waltz in here and expect you to put your life at risk out of some misguided belief that you owe it to his mother.” As Kira stomped up and down the kitchen, Kira went through the motions of cooking. Not that anything she made at the moment would be edible but at least it gave her something to do with her hands while she ranted. “Does he want you to end up as a lab rat in some pseudo scientists lab somewhere? And that’s assuming SilverTech don’t just kill you as soon as you openly appear in public.”

“Cheerful.”

“Truthful.”

“Fair point. But—“

“But what?”

“Someone in Law Enforcement on our side—maybe—“

“Maybe he could be your knight in shining armour? Bring SilverTech down once and for all, and hell, maybe even find an antidote for what was done to you?”

“Kira—“

“Don’t you think I **want** that for you? Don’t you think I would do _anything_ in my power to get your life back for you?” Unable to stand the pain in her voice any longer, Derek jumped up from his seat and pulled her into his arms. 

“Kira—I know how much you’ve given up on my behalf. And I know how much you want a normal life. I really do. I’m sorry—I let myself get carried away—I’ve told him he can’t say anything and he can’t come back.” He winced when Kira gave an audible sniffle, then again when she dropped her face against his chest and tear-drops began to soak through his shirt. 

“Do you think he’s going to listen to the warnings?”

“I really hope so. But hey, at least he knows I had nothing to do with that murder. That’s a good thing, right?”

“Oh Derek, your attempts at levity are not appreciated.”

“Silver lining and all that—no pun intended. You’re exhausted—why don’t you grab an early night?”

“I was going to cook pasta.”

“I’m not that hungry. And I know you ate earlier.” He was relieved when she nodded wearily, pressed a kiss to his cheek and then went off to her room. He felt a deep sense of self-loathing; his presence in Kira’s life was such a burden, and he hated that. It had been the two of them working on a cure for so long now—she was his only real contact with the outside world. He knew it had limited her life in many ways and he deeply regretted it. He thought, not for the first time, of just running away but that would break Kira’s heart. And he didn’t think he would survive completely alone. 

But what was he going to do about Stiles?

o o O o O o o 

“Nicotine poisoning?” Scott sounded surprised.

“Yeah, Malia came through with the results this morning. Stiles replied absently, reading through Malia’s report. 

“Doesn’t ingestion of nicotine kill instantly? I mean, the vic left that party, managed to walk to that hotel before collapsing.”

“So we need to figure out the method of delivery.”

“And maybe figure out what exactly is going on with you.”

“What?” Mouth agape, Stiles finally looked over at his partner. “What are you talking about?” 

“I’m talking about you going off and doing that search without me, despite us saying it was a dead end. And you’ve only been half here the last few days.” Scott looked uncomfortable for a moment. “Look, Stiles, I know you come with baggage, especially this time of year so close to when you Mom died—and I get that, I mean we all come with baggage. Not a lot of people wanted to partner up with me once they found out Alison and I used to be in a relationship in case it muddled things up—“

“That never bothered me!” 

“Exactly! Look, whatever, just—if you need to talk, then I’m here okay?” Caught by the sincerity in Scott’s eyes, Stiles nodded. He had no idea what he was going to do about any of it—Derek’s part in the case had pretty much been sidelined with talk of a pre-nup difficulty combined with infidelity so he couldn’t hide behind that as the reason for his fascination. 

“But he knew it wasn’t in him to ignore what had happened. Because now he knew about SilverTech, he knew that his Mom’s work and death were part of a bigger mystery. And he knew he wanted to see Derek again. It was only a matter of time.

“Thanks Scott—I appreciate it, I really do.” Desperately wanting to change the subject, Stiles gestured to Alison’s office where the Captain was deep in conversation with a couple of suits. “Hey, who are those guys in with the Captain?”

“Them? Oh—they came to claim the bodies found in the subway the other night. Some jurisdiction thing—I think Captain was just happy to clear the numbers and not have to spare the manpower.”

“Right.” Frowning, Stiles tried to figure out how he could discover who the people were and whether or not they came from SilverTech.

o o O o O o o 

“Hey!”

“Oh my God, you need a bell!”

“You’re the one creeping around my place.”

“Sorry. Yeah. Erm—last night two military guys came and claimed the bodies from the subway.”

“Did you talk to them?” Instantly alert, Derek found himself surreptitiously checking Stiles over for injuries, although there appeared to be none.

“No. Well, yeah—I mean, I checked their documentation but it all seemed legit. One of them was a bit weird with me—sort of warned me off but that was it. Then I came here.”

“This is why you need to stay away from here.” Running his hands through his hair, Derek tried to calm down. “I needed to warn you.”

“You need to leave!”

“I lost my cell phone on the platform—what if the agents from SilverTech track you or something—“

“Seriously, Stiles, you need to leave and not come back here. Stop all contact with me.”

“What about my Mom?”

“I know what it’s like to lose someone you love, but you have **got** to move on.”

“You can’t tell me to just move on!”

“So, what, ten years after the fact you’re going to solve your mother’s murder and get _justice_? Then what? Trust me, Stiles, it does not end well!”

“Well, I’m gonna take my chances!” They faced off against each other, and Derek could feel his temper rising at Stiles’ blatant disregard of everything he was telling him.

“You don’t get it, do you?”

“No, I do! You can’t tell me everything and that’s fine but talking to you is the first time since my Mom died that I haven’t felt like I was crazy! I don’t **need** all of the answers from you—I just—“

“You **ARE** crazy! Do you not understand, I’m dangerous to be around. You keep showing up here alone and I could kill you in a second!” His eyes bleeding red, Derek allowed his claws to spring free and felt his teeth elongating. “SilverTech aren’t the only monsters—you need to get away from me and stay away!” He could scent how afraid Stiles was but pushed through the pain it caused him. “GO!”

“I’ll go—but not because I’m the one that’s scared! And I will be back—fangs or no fangs!” Derek watched as Stiles ran back to his car and scrambled in, checking over his shoulder. They shared a searing look before Stiles peeled out of the parking area and left Derek standing watching as he left. Pushing the animal down inside, he slumped to his knees.

What was it about that man that made it so difficult for Derek to stay in control? No one else had ever tested his control quite so spectacularly—not that he could remember anyway. Maybe Kira was right and they should move? Stiles was proving to be dangerous to the equilibrium he had worked so hard to attain. 

But how did he walk away from the one person who made him feel alive in nearly a decade?

o o O o O o o 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since most of this is from Derek's perspective, a lot of the procedural police work won't be covered. 
> 
> And this makes the end of the pilot (pretty much). I don't plan on going episode by episode - more like covering the highlights that form their relationship - in other words, this is where it starts to go AU!

**Author's Note:**

> [Beauty & the Beast](http://beautyandthebeastcwshow.wikia.com/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast_\(TV_Series\)) (2012) Fusion/rewrite with a Sterek twist. Mainly because I fell in love with Jay Ryan as Vincent Keller, the beast but wanted to see how it would work with Derek and Stiles! 
> 
> Could be the beginning of a longer story but who knows as my muse has been MIA for a LONG time now! 
> 
> I do not own the characters from Beauty & the Beast or Teen Wolf. Some dialogue borrowed from the series.


End file.
